Why it works: Red currant and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 26% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,156 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Red Currant Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the juice
Wash and drain the currants, then remove them from the stalks.
Mash the currants with the back of a spoon.
Place the mashed currants in a jelly bag and squeeze to extract the juice.
Make the jelly
Combine the currant juice and sugar in a kettle.
Boil the mixture for 20 minutes, skimming regularly.
Pour the warm jelly into glasses and cover with brandy paper once cooled.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Red currant + sugartop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,156 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Red currants
- Provide the tart fruit juice that gives the jelly its flavour and natural pectin for setting.
- Loaf sugar
- Sweetens the juice and, with boiling, helps the jelly thicken and set as it cools.
The step that matters
Boiling the juice and sugar for 20 minutes. Boiling drives off water and concentrates the pectin and sugar so the jelly sets firmly. Undercooking leaves it runny, while overcooking can darken and toughen it. Skimming removes foam so the jelly stays clear.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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